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The World is an amazing place….

Rhi·zome (rzm)

A horizontal, usually underground stem that often sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. The term is used metaphorically to describe social structures that are non-hierarchical, non-centralised, self-regulating, and formed peer-to-peer.

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Yes, Hoofstede did an amazing job in identifying cultural categories. However, his taxonomy is based on the view of cultures as sealed entities. Today’s reality and other more recent approaches in intercultural communication suggest that INDIVIDUALS may not necessarily fit into any pre-conceived category. Hoofstede’s view of culture(s) falls into the definition of ESSENTIALIST approaches. This says that ‘culture’ is a concrete social phenomenon which represents the essential character of a particular nation.

Another, very different approach is the NON-ESSENTIALIST approach. This says that ‘culture’ is a movable concept used by different people at different times to suit purposes of identity, politics and science.

Javad, I believe that familiarizing yourself with the non-essentialist approach would serve you well in improving the effectiveness of your teaching, as it would make you mindful of a broader range of situations that would go beyond Hoosftede’s taxonomy.

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George Simons of diversophy.com is working on a SIETAR EUROPE project to “initiate the conversation on ‘What is intercultural competence.’ The intention is to direct this discussion and the resources we are able to develop into a certification program for interculturalists. View my comments